1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to apparatus and method for positioning an X-ray imaging machine relative to a patient as opposed to positioning a patient relative to the X-ray machine in combination with a suction holding device for positioning a breast of a woman who has difficulties in raising her arms or in standing.
2. Description of Related Art
Mammography is a test that uses x-rays to generate images of the breast tissue. The test is performed to detect and evaluate abnormalities such as tumors and cysts. It is very important to perform mammograms regularly.
Successful treatment of breast cancer depends on early diagnosis. Mammography plays a major role in early detection of breast cancers. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration reports that mammography can find 85 to 90 percent of breast cancers in women over the age of 50. Clearly, the benefits of mammography far outweigh the risks and inconvenience of not having one. A screening mammogram is an x-ray examination of the breasts in a woman who has no complaints or symptoms of breast cancer. The goal of screening mammography is to detect cancer when it is still too small to be felt by a woman or her physician. Early detection of small breast cancers by screening mammography greatly improves a woman's chances for successful treatment. Screening mammography is recommended every one to two years for women once they reach 40 years of age and every year once they reach 50 years of age. Also, the current recommendation is to have a base line mammogram at the age of 35. In some instances, physicians may advise beginning screening mammography before age 40 (e.g. if the woman has a strong family history of breast cancer).
During mammography, a woman stands in front of a mammography machine and one of her breasts is placed on a clear plastic plate and gently, but firmly, pressed from another plate above her breast. This compression flattens the breast so that the maximum amount of tissue can be imaged and examined. The pressure lasts a few seconds and does not harm the breast. but can be painful The same steps are repeated with the other breast. The plates of the machine are then tilted to take a side view of each breast. When done, a woman will have two different views of each breast for a total of four pictures.
In another procedure a woman stands in front of an X-ray machine and raises her arms to elevate her breasts. With either of these procedures, a young or an older woman who has difficulty in either raising her arms or in standing will experience some degree of discomfort.
What is needed is an X-ray machine that can be positioned to screen the breast of a woman who has difficulty in either raising her arms or in standing in combination with a device that can position a woman's breast to a desired position for an X-ray examination with minimum discomfort.